Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero expressed hope that government agencies will spend the Php5.024-trillion budget it was seeking from Congress for its 2022 spending plan to help the country heal and recover from the catastrophic impact brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Escudero, who once chaired the Senate Committee on Finance, how the government resources are utilized will make or break the Philippines as a nation as it grapples with the severe effects of the public health crisis.
“Ang paggamit ng mga ahensiya ng pondo gobyerno ay siyang magdidikta kung saan tayo pupulutin sa susunod na taon,” Escudero said. “Kung tama at wasto ang paggamit, makakapaglikha tayo ng maraming trabaho at matutulungan ang muling pagbangon ng ekonomiya. Kung lulustayin lamang ito, mapag-iiwanan na naman tayo ng ibang bansa.”
The House of Representatives recently transmitted to the Senate for deliberation the Php5.024-trillion General Appropriations Bill, which focus is to boost the government’s COVID-19 response and help bring the economy back on track.
“It is the most important piece of legislation because that will be an instrument by which the government acts and makes other people react. It dictates whether our economy will indeed grind or grind to a halt,” the veteran senator said.
Spending for COVID-19 response, including cash aid during the recent lockdown, brought the country’s deficit to P1.1 trillion in the last nine months, up 29.6 percent from year ago figures, according to data released by the Bureau of Treasury recently, while the national debt stood as Php11.61 trillion as of July 2021.
“The National Budget can create jobs, it can pump prime the economy and position us to better address the pandemic, if properly used and with more transparency,” Escudero said. “Dahil kung hindi, ang talo na naman dito ay an sambayanang Pilipino.”
He cited the need for more transparency in the procurement of vaccines, as this was stalled by refusal of officials of the Department of Health to disclose prices on grounds that these were covered by non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with suppliers.
“The prices are in the website of the WHO (World Health Organization). In other countries, they publish it. But here in our country, they are using the NDA as an excuse not to be transparent with respect to how government money, public money was spent, specifically in the purchase of vaccines,” he said.
“Congress has allotted huge amount of money so the government can effectively deliver its response to the pandemic. Our officials owe the public an explanation as to how they spent and plan to spend this public money,” he added.